Obituary: Philip Saltzman (1928-2009)

August 20, 2009

Prolific television writer and producer Philip Saltzman died on August 14 at the age of 80. Saltzman, who had been hospitalized at the Motion Picture Home, suffered from an advanced form of dementia.

Saltzman began writing for television in the late fifties, on half-hour cheapies for Ziv (Mackenzie’s Raiders, Lock Up) and then for slightly more distinguished westerns like Wanted Dead or Alive and The Rifleman. Soon Saltzman joined the burgeoning ranks of young writers pumping life into the later seasons of Warners’ cookie-cutter detective shows, Hawaiian Eye and Surfside 6. “Four-Cornered Triangle,” a noirish story of obsessive love that is Saltzman’s best Eye, remains a perfect example of how to base a formulaic show around character rather than action or genre cliches.

One of television’s top freelancers during the sixties, Saltzman composed teleplays for action and dramatic series like Richard Diamond Private Detective, Five Fingers, The Third Man, The Detectives, Stoney Burke, Dr. Kildare, Run For Your Life, and The Wild Wild West.

“The Voice of Gina Milan,” a Run For Your Life two-hander, paired adventurer Paul Bryan (Ben Gazzara) with an Italian girl of mystery (Susan Strasberg) who turns out to be an brilliant opera singer in momentary flight from her destiny. The steam runs out of this romance once we find out Gina Milan’s identity and the nature of her problem; but Saltzman’s story (completed by the talented John W. Bloch) remains admirably claustrophobic, and his lovers have a mischievous, carefree byplay suggestive of the lush-life atmosphere that Run For Your Life always struggled to evoke.

“The Voice of Gina Milan” has a killer ending, and a sucker-punch of a third-act twist also distinguishes my favorite Saltzman script, “To Catch the Kaiser.” This Stoney Burke entry places the titular rodeo hero in the clutches of Eileen Fowler (Diana Hyland), a beautiful trick rider who hires Stoney (Jack Lord) to corral the majestic horse that crippled her. “Kaiser” is one of those magic hours in which every element comes together: Tom Gries’ forceful closeups, the editing of the exciting horse-and-jeep chase, Hyland’s typically quicksilver performance, and Dominic Frontiere’s proto-Outer Limits scoring, which teases out the baroque emotions in Saltzman’s teleplay.

Without ever dropping an obvious clue, Saltzman gradually aligns the viewer with Stoney’s uneasy feeling that Eileen and her father (John Anderson, his glum, gravelly drawl vital to the brooding pall that hangs over everything) are withholding something. The truth that Saltzman finally reveals is a cruel one, but he follows it (too fast, maybe, but fifty minutes is a tight noose) with a welcome, bittersweet note of catharsis.

Saltzman also wrote regularly for producer Quinn Martin’s 12 O’Clock High and The Fugitive during the sixties. His Fugitives were always solid, if not among the very best episodes; the highlight was perhaps “Trial by Fire,” one of the handful of segments that brought Dr. Kimble back to his hometown of Stafford, Indiana, this time to interrogate an alleged witness (Charles Aidman) to the one-armed man’s crime. Saltzman did a year as an associate producer on 12 O’Clock High, then two as the producer of Fox’s half-hour cop series Felony Squad.

In 1969, Saltzman began a a decade-long, full-time association with Quinn Martin Productions by taking the helm of its most dubious property, the long-running The FBI. Saltzman ably replaced the producer of The FBI’s first four seasons, the gifted writer Charles Larson, and continued Larson’s strategy of ignoring the cardboard cops (denied any complexity at Mr. Hoover’s insistence) as much as possible in favor of the colorful and often sympathetic criminals.

After his own four-year stint with The FBI, Saltzman moved over to QM’s Barnaby Jones. Saltzman always managed to sound authentically enthusiastic about this geriatric private eye show, which was lambasted by critics and had the misfortune to be rumored as Richard Nixon’s favorite program. Gamely, Saltzman called it the “Playhouse 90 of the Mississippi,” referring to Barnaby’s popularity in the heartland.

Saltzman ran Barnaby Jones for seven of its eight seasons, during and after which he also wrote or produced a number of other failed pilots, made-for-TV movies, and short-lived shows for Martin. An expert, by then, on the possibilities of crime-fighting by senior citizens, Saltzman wrapped his career by producing several of the revived Perry Mason and Columbo television movies in the late eighties.

I know little about Saltzman’s background, although one source states that he was born in Mexico; if that’s accurate, he may have been a child of Jews who fled the pogroms of Eastern Europe. Saltzman’s widow is Caroline Veiller, daughter of the screenwriter Anthony Veiller (The Killers, Moulin Rouge, The Night of the Iguana).

I never met Saltzman myself, but I am relieved that another TV historian, Jonathan Etter, interviewed Saltzman at length for both his 2003 biography of Quinn Martin and a subsequent Filmfax piece.

So sad to hear of this loss…Philip Saltzman was involved with a number of my favorite TV shows over the years. I am a major fan of both Felony Squad and Barnaby Jones in particular, two series that benefited greatly from his golden touch.

Stephen,
I was forwarded your obit. on my father, Philip Saltzman, and found it informative and wonderfully written. I too am sorry you never met him, he was a kind, bright man and I’m sure you would have enjoyed his stories. You did quite a bit of research and yes, he was the son of Jews fleeing the Pogroms in Russia. Anyway, I just want to thank you for the kind words and well written piece.

Philip was a man of great warmth and charm, and his friends – among whom I count myself – will miss him. He was one of the good guys in the business. He was also an important part of the mainstream TV world – creating so many popular first rate dramas and thrillers – a credit to his craft and his era. He was a master of the art of telling a good story with intriguing characters. What a prodigious amount of good TV he wrote and produced.

Very nicely done, Stephen, especially your comments on his work on Run For Your Life. Given his long association with QM, it is easy to forget the fine work that Saltzman did on other top-notch shows.

I did have an opportunity to speak to him a few times for The Fugitive Recaptured and remember our conversations fondly. While I disagree with you with respect to his work on the show (“Cry Uncle” is among the best shows in the series, IMHO, while “Trial by Fire” also has its moments), that’s a minor quibble among colleagues. Keep up the good work.

I had never read your blog before and am very impressed with your knowledge of Philip Saltzman’s work as a TV writer, particularly, and TV scripts in general. I came across the blog looking for information on where services would be held for Phil, so I could attend. I was, of course, distressed to learn of his recent-years dementia, this man whom I only knew as possessing a brilliant mind. I last saw Phil about 20 years ago. He was the best producer I’d ever worked for, not only gifted but a kind compassionate person with a great sense of humor. It’s traditional to say good things about those who are gone, but with Phil it’s all true.

Dear Stephen: I was delighted to read your obituary on Philip. You did such an incredible amount of research. It meant so much to Jennifer and me, and when they finally read it, his sons will be equally pleased. It is especially gratifying, after several years of caring for him with dementia, to have the real Philip brought back so vividly.